Although the go ahead is yet to be given by the UK and Scottish governments on travelling other than on essential journeys, Edinburgh Airport has begun a campaign with a range of measures to help passengers and staff prepare to return to air travel.
The ‘let’s all flysafe’ campaign is part of the airport’s readiness programme as airlines begin to restart operations and will provide confidence and reassurance to those travelling through and working at the airport.
Today there are flights from Edinburgh Airport to Amsterdam. Paris, Heathrow, Gatwick, Dublin and Belfast. But at present there is an exceptional travel advisory in place: The Foreign & Commonwealth Office currently advises British nationals against all but essential international travel. This advice is being kept under constant review.
Measures introduced at the airport include:
- One-way colour-coded systems to manage flow and social distance
- Hand sanitising stations installed inside and outside the airport
- Protective screens installed in check-in, security and arrivals
- A trial of temperature checking technology for departing passengers
- Staff wearing face coverings and PPE in passenger facing areas
- Enhanced cleaning schedules and new fogging machines to disinfect trollies and wheelchairs
- Deep cleaning of security trays, and new anti-viral trays introduced
- E-learning Covid-19 modules for all staff
The campaign will be backed by new signage at the airport clearly explaining to people where they need to go. The signs include colours different from the traditional brand colours. The sky-blue, maroon red and lime green will differentiate the campaign from regular materials, and have deliberately been chosen to help those who are colour-blind distinguish between the different routes.
Social media graphics will also be used to prepare people ahead of arriving at the airport, while emails containing the same messaging will be sent to the Airport’s contacts database.
The campaign encourages staff and passengers to work together and for everyone to do what they can to protect each other and flysafe.
The airport has introduced five general rules for travellers to follow:
Don’t risk it – don’t fly or come to the airport if you feel unwell
Protect yourself and others – please wear a face covering
Clean your hands often – wash or use sanitiser
Maintain social distancing and be mindful of other passengers
Be kind, be patient and flysafe
The introduction of the campaign and enhanced measures comes as airlines such as easyJet, Ryanair, Loganair, Wizz and BA begin to reintroduce parts of their schedule.
The let’s all flysafe campaign has been created in partnership with Edinburgh-based The Lane Agency who have a strong track record with high-profile campaigns and a close relationship with the airport.
Gordon Dewar, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Airport said: “We know how important it is to provide passengers with reassurance and confidence as they look to return to travel and we’ve spent a lot of time looking at how we do that by making improvements to our operation.
“The steps we have taken will allow people to get moving safely and reopen our economy by providing that connectivity that our airlines are rebuilding. We all have a part to play in this recovery and we must make sure we do that by encouraging people to flysafe.”
Adam Wilson, Operations Director at Edinburgh Airport said:“Although we never want to see a near empty airport, we’ve utilised the time to closely look at the terminal and surrounding areas and come up with a plan to protect everyone as much as possible.
“We know the layout is different and we know it will take time to adapt to it, but we believe the campaign and measures are the right thing for our airport and our passengers. We’re effectively welcoming people into our home and these changes are our way of providing them with confidence and reassurance, letting them know we care about and them and their journeys.
“We’ll continue to evaluate our approach as we go forward, and we encourage people to provide feedback and help us all flysafe.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
